Pollen
by Anna Burdenko; trans. Alex Shvartsman, Clarkesworld #222 (March 2025) [originally published in Trust the Future, 2023]
![Magazine cover: Clarkesworld #222 (March 2025); review of “Pollen” by Anna Burdenko; trans. Alex Shvartsman [originally published in Trust the Future, 2023]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Clarkesworld-222.jpg)
A cleverly wrought SF short story, rich in characterisation yet nimble in its worldbuilding. Burdenko posits a castaway scenario wherein a teen girl and her younger sister endure maroonment on a deadly, deserted alien planet, kept sane by hallucinations(!) of their family.